| Popis: |
The killing of parents, frequently referred to as parricide, often generates extensive news coverage because of its taboo nature. Research on parricide has focused almost exclusively on biological offspring who kill mothers and fathers with a few studies on stepparents. To date, however, virtually no research exists on adopted sons and daughters who kill their adoptive parents because this type of victim-offender relationship has not been coded in existing US homicide databases. This article briefly reviews the scant literature available on adoptees who kill their adoptive parents. Thereafter, a content analysis of news reports of 39 juvenile and adult adoptees in the United States who killed their adoptive parents is presented. Analyses include the characteristics of offenders and victims (e.g., age, race, gender), incidents (e.g., number of victims and offenders), and case-related variables (e.g., weapons used, other charges). Attention focuses on the processing of offenders from the initial charge through conviction and sentencing. The article concludes with a comparison of adoptees and biological offspring who commit parricide, observations that emerged from these news accounts, acknowledgment of the limitations of this study, and a discussion of directions for future research. |
